The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. Getting to Washington, D.C. Less than 1 percent (0.8) were Jewish, Hindu, Thai, Buddhist or Muslim combined, and 5.7 listed no religion. Marlin on March 19, 1967 and Norman on August 18, 1968 Brothers Bennett and Dennis Herrick were both killed in Vietnam. The affected record collections are described below. Senate. Its unlikely that anyone who visits the memorial on a given day would have the time, the heart or the stomach to read and consider each one. Army and Marine officer casualties were also quite young. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam. Others think it is just another tourist stop until they feel the haunting power of this unique work of remembrance. Some have tried for years before receiving approval from DoD. Officers of all services, by tradition largely Protestant, remained so during the Vietnam war, sustaining casualties in comparison with Catholics by a 5 to 2 ratio. The directory can be purchased on the VVMF store. They also died quickly, many within a few weeks or months of arriving in Vietnam. Indeed, officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. This was a reflection of the role of warrant officers as helicopter pilots (of the 1,277 warrant officer casualties, 95 percent were Army helicopter pilots), and of the young lieutenants and captains as combat platoon leaders or company commanders. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. As she wisely predicted, this would help bring the veterans back in timeand a cathartic healing would occur for many by facing this loss again.. . The figures show that on average 65 percent of white enlisted men and 60 percent of black enlisted men were high school graduates. Some common names appear on the Memorial more than once. The names of Army Master Sergeant Chester Ovnand and Major Dale Buis are inscribed on Panel 1E of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. Copies of WWII though Vietnam era (men born April 28, 1877 to March 28, 1957) Selective Service Records may be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center, in St. Louis, for a fee. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Vietnam Wall. And, as in every American war, it is the very young who are the most willing to volunteer. But given the draft policies, the hard-sell recruitment, the severe escalation from month to month and the refusal by President Lyndon Johnson to call up the older reserves and National Guard, it could not have been otherwise. Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., protested, and President Johnson ordered black participation in combat units cut back. The casualty date is the date the person was killed or wounded in combat or injured during an accident; for the missing, the date is when the person was reported missing. This makeup, they say, was the very antithesis of what we stand for as a democracy a shameful corruption of our values and our historical sense of fairness and social justice. 1970 - ca. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. The Channeling Memo of July 1965, instructed all local draft boards to give status deferments to college undergraduate and post-graduate students. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Army Center of Military History103 3rd AvenueFort Lesley J. McNair, DC 20319-5058Telephone: (202) 685-4042, NavyU.S. Dear Mr. Huddleston, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! If each 54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. Lins vision prevailed. As Maya Ling Lin, the architect of the Wall, has said: It was as if the black-brown earth were polished and made into an interface between the sunny world and the quiet dark world beyond that we cannot enter. the "save as" menu command to store each text file on your media. Since its adoption in 1951, at the time of the Korean War, this policy had been renewed by Congress every four years. Doubek was tasked with identifying all of the names to be included on the Wall. Fallen comrades could be together on the Wall, as theyd been in death. This is close to, but not exactly in the same order as the names on the Wall. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. The names are listed chronologically by date of death, the first to last. This amounted to 4.1 percent of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam. In the military it can be somewhat more deadly. These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed in chronological order of the casualty date and then alphabetical by last name within a given date. There are 58,267 names now listed on Vietnam Wall, including those added in 2010. They came largely from California and Texas, with lesser numbers from Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, New York and a few from many other states across the country. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study released in 1992, found that our Vietnam casualties were only marginally greater from the economically lowest 50 percent of our communities (31 deaths per 100,000 of population), when compared with the economically highest 50 percent (26 deaths per 100,000 population). The officer corps has always drawn heavily on English/Scottish/Welsh, German, Irish and Scandinavian-American ancestries from middle-class white collar homes, with other large percentages from ambitious working class blue collar and, of course, career military families. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. The trigger came when the recruiters pointed out that the volunteer could enlist as early as 17 (with parental consent); that he was allowed to select his branch of service; that he would receive specialized training if he qualified; that he could request a specific overseas assignment; and that his three year enlistment followed by three years in the inactive reserves satisfied his military obligation immediately. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. Written requests should be mailed to: National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. Making these arrangements and printing the pages takes considerable Many high-ranking military men (including General William C. Westmoreland, the U.S. commander in Vietnam) opposed the program, feeling that the effectiveness of some units would be reduced and that fellow soldiers would sometimes be put in greater jeopardy by these less mentally capable personnel. Our combat arms were thought to be completely classless. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Vietnam Magazine today! The beginnings and endings are often hazy and the facts of the story lie at the mercy of the teller. The directories are organized alphabetically by last name. Hed volunteered to join a small U.S. military advisory team attached to the South Vietnamese army, and hed been in the village of Bien Hoa for only two days. Naval Academy, 130; Texas A & M, 112; The Citadel, 66; Virginia Military Institute, 43; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 26; Norwich University, 19. The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. Quite a different profile emerges among the Navy and Air force officer corps. Scholars debate about when the war really began and in many ways it has never ended. Vietnam War: in Country, Notice: Scanning of Vietnam-era Deck Logs, Vietnam War, 1961-1975. Of all enlisted men who died in Vietnam, blacks made up 14.1 percent of the total. It should be noted, however, that the draft was specifically designed to trigger volunteer enlistments. Chiseled on the wall are the names of the 58,196 men and women who either died or are still listed as missing in Southeast Asia between 1959 and 1975. . The remaining 70 percent of our Vietnam enlisted casualties were of English/Scottish/Welsh, German, Irish and Scandinavian-American ancestries, more from the South and Midwest than the other regions, many from small towns with a family military tradition. The virtual Wall of Faces features a page dedicated to honoring and remembering every person whose name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. His name does not appear at either far end. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a symbol of American honor and appreciation for the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives during the Vietnam War. The job of cross-referencing the information of individual branches with the DoD fell to Doubek. Their names, however, have been removed from the printed Directory of Names. readers. The Army as a branch had 134,982 killed or wounded (9.5 percent), but the Marines suffered 66,227 killed or wounded (22.5 percent) or almost one of every four Marines who served. They did not, in most cases, carry the burdens of wife or children. The names of those who gave their lives and of those who remain missing are inscribed in the order they were taken from us. All of this was one of the great and abiding agonies of the Vietnam War, causing repercussions within families and on the national political scene to this day. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. These were Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and other Latino-Americans with ancestries based in Central and South America. This video can help you find the name of someone you'd like to honor. The numbers on the wall ascend from the center out toward the left and right extremes. The major service academies and other military colleges provided close to 900 of the Vietnam officer casualties: the U.S. Military Academy, 278; the U.S. Air Force Academy, 205; the U.S. The first Americans to die did not perish in a foxhole or beneath stars obscured by a jungle canopy. It should be emphasized that 55 percent of all Navy and Air Force officer casualties came as a result of reconnaissance and bombing sorties into North Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display, Look up the name in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. These young men were trained quickly and shipped to Vietnam quickly. On Patrol caught up with Pete Peterson to find out how the U.S.-Vietnam relationship has progressed since the normalization of ties in 1995. but will allow you to download it after you specify a file name. Bennett on March 25, 1968 and Dennis on August 02, 1970 Brothers Gabriel and Paul Trujillo were both killed in Vietnam. They were struggling through or dropping out of high school, or if a high school graduate, had tested poorly for college entrance. Those designated by a plus sign were considered to be missing in action when the war ended. the requirements were expanded (by. With this list in hand, he went to the various locations where individual service records were kept to review files. The makeup of U.S. combat forces in Vietnam has long been the subject of controversy among social scientists. As they came through the door, Viet Cong guerrillas opened fire with machine guns. The files are quite large in order that we could save in Rich Text Format Although it is a truism that the young die in war, one is still unprepared for the fact that 40 percent of Marine enlisted casualties in Vietnam were teenagers; that more than 16 percent of Army enlisted casualties were also teenagers; and that nearly a quarter of all enlisted casualties in Vietnam were between the ages of 17- and 19-years old. As many as 3 million people visit each year, according to some estimates, and they come for probably as many reasons. The Selective Service System it said, has the responsibility to deliver manpower to the armed forces in such a manner as to reduce to a minimum any adverse effect upon the national health, safety, interest and progress. The Order of Precedence For Military Ribbon Wear, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubH-5CulqI, Military Funeral Guide for Families & Funeral Homes, The Ultimate Military Gift Guide for Unique Military Gifts, Black Military History and Black Medal of Honor Recipients. Library of Congress, National Archives Reference Information Page 90 A Finding Aid to Records Relating to American Prisoners of War and Missing in Action from the Vietnam War Era, 1960-1994, Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam War, Missing Vietnam Military Resulting from Hostile Forces, Missing Vietnam Military NOT Resulting from Hostile Forces, Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972, Medal of Honor Awards Case Files, 1965 - ca. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. Postscript: Since 1982, there have been 89 names added to The Wall. For weeks and weeks, a team worked through the list, verifying spellings and ensuring that the computer printout that was to be used for the stenciling was correct. See Access to Non-Archival Records for more information. The 58,152 names of those who died in Vietnam are etched onto the two rising black marble slabs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The west wall is on the left when standing facing the vertex, and the east wall is to the right. Records of U.S. Military Casualties, Missing in Action, and Prisoners of War from the Era of the Vietnam War are available through the National Archives. The panels come together to form a point, linking the first and last together in enduring tribute. The names would become the memorial. The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. name within a given date. Please say a prayer for our fallen heroes, their family members, and our hero Vietnam War Veterans during your visit. Except for the last file, there are approximately 10,000 names per file. Individual Award Case Files, 1969 - 1970. The ship had been taken to the island of Koh Tang. Its now one of the most popular memorials in Washington. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Marine Corps History Division2044 Broadway StreetQuantico, Virginia 22134Telephone: (703) 432-4877, Coast GuardU.S. But after World War II a kind of educational apartheid had settled over the United States. I looked at the record to determine whether mortal wounds were sustained, Doubek said of the men whose names were listed by the Army, but not by DoD. I can envision a small cottage someplace, with a lot of writing paper, and a dog, and a fireplace, and maybe enough money to give myself some Irish coffee now and then and entertain my two friends , I dont think it will be too terribly long until we are together again.. Nevertheless, 336,111 men were phased into the service under this plan (mostly the Army) and 2,072 were killed. Look for discharge papers, pictures, medals,etc. It gives the names in alphabetical order and . Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. Frequently relatives or buddies of casualties He accepted the tradition of military service passed on to him by the popular culture and by President John F. Kennedys ringing words, Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. But you had stories of guys in the Air Force who would die in their aircraft over Thailand after having been shot over Vietnam. Technically, they were ineligible for inclusion on the Wall. He would become instrumental in helping Doubek identify names and check spellings. The Vietnam Wall at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park features the names of local fallen soldiers. The memorial consists of three separate parts: The Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, also known as The Wall That Heals, which is the most popular feature. The first two names listed on Panel 1, East Wall, at the apex are from July 8, 1959. The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, MA; he was listed by theDepartment of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. World War II had been, for the most part, a perfect war, clear of purpose, the forces of democracy and freedom lined up against the forces of fascism and tyranny. About 58 thousand of the 7 million American service men and women who served in Vietnam died. Please be patient Each entry includes a panel number and letter; "W" is for "west" or the left half of the memorial, "E" is for east, or the right half of the memorial. Interesting Veterans Statistics Of The Vietnam Memorial Wall There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010. Look at the bottom of each panel on the wall for its number. 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old. Photo credit DOD photo by Army Sgt. At the time, approximately 1,300 names were designated as servicemen who were either missing or prisoners of war. Tom was killed while assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl HarborDay. You could also keep these files on a computer at your Many of the 17- and 18-year olds were simply late in maturing. In order to have your name on the Wall, you had to have died within the war zone, explained Doubek. Compounding these difficulties was the issue that many casualties, particularly from the Air Force, were not always straightforward in terms of locale. The National Park Service offers these steps for locating a name: National Park Service rangers and volunteers are available to assist in locating names at the Memorial. We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled Muster Rolls and Personnel Diaries, 1941-1980 in the Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127). However, in 1980, President James E. Carter resumed Selective Service registration in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Alphabetical listing of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall . The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for all who wish to visit. Early on President Johnson, his advisers and especially the Congress, realized that if the draft was to be truly equitable and had included combat assignments in Vietnam for the sons of the educationally advantaged and influential Americans from the professional and managerial classes, then the resulting uproar would have shut down the war. The draftee, if found physically and mentally fit, would be inducted for a period of two years, to be followed by another two year period in the active reserves and a subsequent two years in the inactive reserves. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. is complete, or you've done a "save as", you can use any word processor A diamond symbol signifies that the service members death was confirmed. The individual Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) may contain information such as: name, Selective Service registration number, age, date and place of birth, ethnicity, place of residence at time of registration and basic physical description. Lins intention from the beginning was to have the names appear chronologically, beginning and ending at the apex. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. has the names listed in chronological order by date of loss. 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950 - 1976 NAID 745, RG, 472, Meritorious Unit Commendations, 1967 - 1971 NAID 4726287, Medal of Honor Awards Case Files, 1965 - ca. An Air Force member, with his back to the camera, holds the POW/MIA flag during a full honors funeral for Air Force Second Lieutenant Richard Vandegeer at Arlington National Cemetery on October 27, 2000. For information regarding official military unit histories, contact: Air ForceU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010: see the "National Cemeteries and Beneficiaries" section below. These directories help locate names on the wall. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. Note that the files are large, and are in Rich Text Format (RTF), with two ), EDUCATIONAL LEVELS OF ENLISTED CASUALTIES. In a massive sampling of the database, it was established that between 5 and 6 percent of Vietnam dead had identifiable Hispanic surnames. 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam. As Vandegeer piloted his CH-53 helicopter toward the island, a wall of anti-aircraft fire knocked it from the sky, and it crashed toward the water with 26 men aboard. I mean, it was bad.. An aunt came and loaded the three boys into the car. Several hundred such designation changes have been made since the Wall was built in 1982. The Selective Service registration requirement was later suspended in April 1975. Some recent studies tend to refute what had been the perceived wisdom of social scientists and other commentators that our Vietnam dead came overwhelmingly from the poor communities. . Army Major Dale Buis' name is etched into the granite half an inch tall, no bigger or smaller than any of the others. You may print these files and have the pages available for visitors to Each name is listed with great honor and respect. United States. This, they felt, would offer these men the opportunity to get remedial training in the service and then be able to compete successfully when they returned to civilian life. information is available on this web site: These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed NAVY AND AIR FORCE OFFICER CASUALTIES BY RANK AND AGE. Inscribed dots in the margins of every other panel mark every 10 lines to aid in counting. Chronological order by date of casualty allows friends and family members to pick out their loved one from all of the others with the same name. Vandegeer was on a mission to rescue the crew of the SS Mayaguez, a merchant ship captured three days earlier off the coast of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 245 deaths. "Home of record" does not necessarily refer to the place of birth, residence of next of kin, place of longest residence, nor other common uses of the term "hometown." The idea that American enlisted dead were made up largely of societys poverty stricken misfits is a terrible slander to their memory and to the solid working-class and middle-class families of this country who provided the vast majority of our casualties. . The panels are numbered beginning from the center out toward the ends of each wall. These files are lists of the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, listed in chronological order of the casualty date and then alphabetical by last name within a given date. Sad to say, many of these recruitment promises were fudged in one way or another, and many of these young men found themselves shipped directly to Vietnam after basic training.
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